Disney and Netflix issued a joint statement today about a plan to bring several series and a miniseries to Netflix based on Marvel characters, including Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Iron First and Luke Cage, over the course of several years, culminating in The Defenders, a “mini-series event that reimagines a dream team of self-sacrificing, heroic characters.”

“This deal is unparalleled in its scope and size, and reinforces our commitment to deliver Marvel’s brand, content and characters across all platforms of storytelling. Netflix offers an incredible platform for the kind of rich storytelling that is Marvel’s specialty,” said Alan Fine, President of Marvel Entertainment. “This serialized epic expands the narrative possibilities of on-demand television and gives fans the flexibility to immerse themselves how and when they want in what’s sure to be a thrilling and engaging adventure.”

“Marvel’s movies, such as ‘Iron Man’ and Marvel’s ‘The Avengers’, are huge favorites on our service around the world. Like Disney, Marvel is a known and loved brand that travels,” said Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos. “With ‘House of Cards’ and our other original series, we have pioneered new approaches to storytelling and to global distribution and we’re thrilled to be working with Disney and Marvel to take our brand of television to new levels with a creative project of this magnitude.”

This new original TV deal follows last year’s landmark movie distribution deal through which, beginning with 2016 theatrically released feature films, Netflix will be the exclusive U.S. subscription television service for first-run, live-action and animated movies from the Walt Disney Studios, including titles from Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Disneynature and Lucasfilm. Netflix members can currently enjoy a wide range of Disney, ABC TV and Disney Channel films and shows across the 41 countries where Netflix operates.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is out on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD this Tuesday, November 5th…I’ve reviewed the theatrical edition already, so what’s so cool about this version? In a word: extras. In a few more words – over nine hours of additional material, not including the feature-length commentary by Peter Jackson and Phillipa Boyens.

First, a quick synopsis:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first in Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated trilogy adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the Wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of 13 Dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild, through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins, Orcs and deadly Wargs, as well as a mysterious and sinister figure known only as the Necromancer.(continue reading…)

A little more than a month away from the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, on November 5th Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release the Extended Edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which will feature 13 minutes of extra film footage that extends individual scenes, and nine hours of additional special features! It is available now for pre-order in a Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/Ultraviolet 5-disc package, Blu-ray/DVD/Ultraviolet 3-disc package, and a DVD 5-disc package. A digital version is already available on iTunes and includes the same extra features (iTunes extras may not be available in all countries.)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first in Peter Jackson’s highly anticipated trilogy adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome Dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the Wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of 13 Dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild, through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins, Orcs and deadly Wargs, as well as a mysterious and sinister figure known only as the Necromancer.(continue reading…)

The final full season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is now out on Blu-ray and DVD today, plus the Collector’s Edition of the complete series is also out on Blu-ray and DVD, if you haven’t started your collection yet – 14 discs for Blu-ray and 19 for DVD, including over 7 hours of extras!

Unfortunately, no signs of the completed Season 6 segments here either…

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Lauded by critics as “a sleek, thrilling epic” (Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly), “a clever, exhilarating action adventure” (Claudia Puig, USA Today) and “stratospherically entertaining” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone), director J.J. Abrams’ phenomenal global sensation STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS makes its highly-anticipated debut on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and On Demand on September 10, 2013 from Paramount Home Media Distribution. Fans can be the first to own the film on Digital when it arrives three weeks early on August 20th. Boasting “spectacular visual effects” (Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer) and “one of the best villains in recent memory” (Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News) STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS delighted audiences around the world, earning a coveted A CinemaScore.(continue reading…)

So, I think it’s time for that cut-the-cord vacation. Another cruise, maybe. If only I didn’t have to work.

It appears that due to some mixup, BBC America’s online shop shipped the “Season 7 Part 2” Blu-ray disks to pre-orders early – before the final episode has aired on the channel. This means that a lot of people can (and have) watched the season finale episode, “The Name of the Doctor” – and at least several seem to have no problems spoiling it for others. And given that the episode is likely going to answer some long-standing questions, as well as set up for the 50th Anniversary episode later this year, if you don’t want to be spoiled, you may want to be EXTREMELY careful around the Internet this week…

Although people who purchased The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey were able to watch Peter Jackson’s presentation and preview of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug live (and if you missed it and have an Ultraviolet code, you can still watch it), you can watch an excerpt of the question and answer section right here…and you might recognize a couple of the people asking questions…(continue reading…)

The second installment of the LEGO Star Wars spoofs, The Empire Strikes Out, is out on DVD this Tuesday (no Blu-ray release this time, at least not yet.)

Get your lightsabers and LEGO bricks ready because your favorite characters are back in the brand new LEGO Star Wars special, LEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out. Catch up on what’s happening in the galactic LEGO Empire with these tidbits about Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out with a fun catch-up on its predecessor, The Padawan Menace.

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR IN THE EMPIRE STRIKES OUT
On top of all the old Star Wars characters making their debuts as LEGO characters, you will also see more references to the franchise films than ever before, so keep your eyes peeled Star Wars fans.(continue reading…)

And I checked – they appear to be the original uncut episodes of the original series, although with the remastered effects, at least with my spot-check of “The Trouble With Tribbles”, which has the vodka/scotch scene intact.